March 18, 1837, Caldwell, New Jersey-June 24, 1908, Princeton, New Jersey
Political Party: Democrat
1st Term: March 4, 1885-March 4-1889, 2nd Term: March 4, 1893-March 4, 1897
Vice Presidents: Thomas A. Hendricks (1885-1889), Adlai E. Stevenson (1893-1897)
Thematic Content: Though Grover Cleveland did not face the issue of slavery, he was confronted with civil rights questions. He viewed the attempt at reconstruction as dismal, like many of the Northerners and Southern whites. He did not feel it necessary to enforce the 15th Amendment with federal power, thus not guaranteeing blacks the right to vote. In government, Cleveland did not appoint blacks to patronage jobs. However, Frederick Douglass was kept in his position, recording deeds in Washington, D.C. A theme of white supremacy resonated through Cleveland’s presidency beyond disenfranchising blacks. He viewed the Chinese as not willing to blend with American society and extended the Chinese Exclusion Act, further limiting the number of Chinese immigrants. Cleveland also took initiative to pass the Scott Act in 1888, which prevented Chinese immigrants that left the United States from returning. Cleveland saw Native Americans as a responsibility of the United States, mentioning in his inaugural address that is a duty of the country to provide for the “improvement of their condition and enforcement of their rights.” Cleveland adopted the policy that land should be granted to individual Native Americans rather than tribes. This became known as the Dawes Act, which was meant to encourage Native American assimilation to American society, but ultimately weakened tribes. Overall, Grover Cleveland did very little to move civil rights reforms in the correct direction, extending the lack of rights minorities already had.
Thesis: As the first Democrat elected into presidential office since the Civil War, Grover Cleveland held the task of bettering the nation. A Northern Democrat, Cleveland took the presidency for two nonconsecutive terms. During these terms, he sought to reform the federal government and help for foster the nation into economic stability. However, Cleveland caused considerable social divisions with the silver and tariff issues. He would go on to effectively divide the Democratic party, losing votes of the working class. His biggest success was seen with the Interstate Commerce Act, causing railroad rates to go down. The panic of 1893 caused a state of instability for America, which required the president to be bailed out by a successful banker. Grover Cleveland deserves a C+ based the establishment of disunity, and small improvements made for the fast- growing nation.
Goals For Presidency: Cleveland’s biggest goal in his first term was reform. He advocated improvement of civil service procedures, reform of executive departments,reduction of pensions to Civil War veterans, a tariff reform, and endingsilver-backed coinage. He achieved moderate success in government reforms, going against the spoils system in appointment of government employees. He fought the party system, announcing that he would not appoint anyone based solely on their party affiliation. He believed in the value of merit, allowing those that were exceptional in their position to stay in it, regardless of their political party. As time went on, many of his Democratic advisors forced him in the direction of Democratic appointments. This caused Cleveland to contradict his goal of reform in executive departments. Although he sought to end coinage based on silver, Cleveland was defeated in his first term. Cleveland’s goals for his second term were focused mainly on silver and tariffs. With the support of many Democrats, he succeeded in repealing the free coinage of silver, bringing gold reserves to safe levels. Cleveland was a strong supporter of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which proposed moderated reduction on tariffs, especially on raw material tariffs. While the bill passed relatively easily through the House, it faced steeper opposition in the Senate. The final bill included over six hundred amendments, and was called a disgrace by Cleveland. Even though the bill had so many amendments, Cleveland still signed the bill, as he believed it was better than the McKinley Tariff.
Relationship with Congress: During Cleveland’s first term in office, the 49th and 50th Congresses were in session. The 49th Congress was dominated by Democrats in the House of Representatives, while the Republicans took the majority in the Senate. This proved to be a challenge for the Democratic president. Although he was backed heartily by the House, it was increasingly difficult for him to pass legislation through the Senate. This was also the case for the 50th Congress. However, the majority for the Republicans in the Senate and the Democrats in the House was taken by a much smaller margin. While Grover Cleveland served his second term in office, the 53rd and 54th Congresses were serving in the legislative branch. In the 53rd Congress, Democrats dominated both the House and the Senate. Conversely, the Republicans held the legislative branch in the 54th Congress. The majority switch challenged Cleveland. As a Democrat, the Republican majority made it difficult to pass anything through Congress. Throughout his presidency, Cleveland also upset the Democratic party with his policies and actions, losing support from his own party. Overall, Cleveland was not in good standing with his Congress by the end of his presidency. Positive Action: The most positive action of Grover Cleveland’s presidency, was the Interstate Commerce Act, which was created to regulate fair rates and rate discrimination. The Interstate Commerce Commission or the ICC’s main purpose was to help ensure that railroad companies did not economically abuse their passengers and the cargo being shipped through the companies. The years prior to Cleveland’s presidency saw increased agitation from western farmers, who believed the railroad companies were discriminating from town to town. The Act claimed that railroads had to charge a “just and reasonable” rate, and they could not give any lower rates or other advantages to any special customers or businesses. While the ICC would grow to become a very important organization, it struggled in its early years, as Cleveland did not provide adequate funds, needed to enforce the Act. While the ICC floundered under Cleveland, it would prosper under the administration of Teddy Roosevelt. This is a positive action for Cleveland as it would grow to help western farmers in the years after Cleveland’s tenure as President.
Negative Action: The most negative action taking by Cleveland, during his administration, was his handling of the Pullman Strike. The Pullman Strike started when the Pullman Palace Car Company slashed wages, due to the panic 1893. The Pullman workers joined the American Railway Union, led by the influential Eugen V. Debs. On June 26, 1894, Debs started the boycott as 125,000 employees stopped working on 29 railroad lines, that used Pullman cars. As the railroads started to struggle, the companies started to hire new employees and African Americans started to cross the picket lines, fearing that the boycott would result in African American jobs being cut. While the new employees started working, tensions grew between the new and old workers. Grover Cleveland authorized the use of federal intervention, in order to break up the strikes. Federal troops were called in, and started to disperse the angry union employees. 30 strikers would be killed, 57 were wounded, and over $80 million property damage resulted in the clash. This action would further alienate most Democratic leaders, who sought support from unions to win general election. This is his most negative action as it would result in the loss of the presidency for the Democratic party, as William Jennings Bryan would lose the following election to William McKinley.
Influential Decision: The most influential decision, during Cleveland’s Presidency, was to trust JP Morgan during the financial crisis of 1893. Cleveland inherited a struggling economy, brought on by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, and the McKinley Tariff, which were passed due to overproduction of silver mines, during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland turned to JP Morgan, who lent the Federal Government $65 million in gold coins. The gold coins would be used to back the gold standard and brought the US out of its panic. While the panic was not Cleveland’s fault, many people blamed him and the Democratic party. Without Cleveland’s actions, the US economy would have continued to struggle.
Conclusion:
By the end of Grover Cleveland’s presidency, the United States was worse off. He originally sought to be rid of the silver standard, but ultimately caused disunity in the country. He effectively split the American public over the silver issue. He alienated many members of the Democratic party, which would cause them to turn their backs on him and endorse William Jennings Bryan. He was a positive member of government when it came to the Interstate Commerce Act, regulating railroad rights, as railroads were a major component of American society at that time. The country felt a long lasting impact from the Panic of 1893 under the Cleveland administration. When Cleveland left office, the Democratic party was left broken and the country was left in shambles, which would be left to William McKinley.
March 18, 1837, Caldwell, New Jersey-June 24, 1908, Princeton, New Jersey
Political Party: Democrat
1st Term: March 4, 1885-March 4-1889, 2nd Term: March 4, 1893-March 4, 1897
Vice Presidents: Thomas A. Hendricks (1885-1889), Adlai E. Stevenson (1893-1897)
Thematic Content:
Though Grover Cleveland did not face the issue of slavery, he was confronted with civil rights questions. He viewed the attempt at reconstruction as dismal, like many of the Northerners and Southern whites. He did not feel it necessary to enforce the 15th Amendment with federal power, thus not guaranteeing blacks the right to vote. In government, Cleveland did not appoint blacks to patronage jobs. However, Frederick Douglass was kept in his position, recording deeds in Washington, D.C. A theme of white supremacy resonated through Cleveland’s presidency beyond disenfranchising blacks. He viewed the Chinese as not willing to blend with American society and extended the Chinese Exclusion Act, further limiting the number of Chinese immigrants. Cleveland also took initiative to pass the Scott Act in 1888, which prevented Chinese immigrants that left the United States from returning. Cleveland saw Native Americans as a responsibility of the United States, mentioning in his inaugural address that is a duty of the country to provide for the “improvement of their condition and enforcement of their rights.” Cleveland adopted the policy that land should be granted to individual Native Americans rather than tribes. This became known as the Dawes Act, which was meant to encourage Native American assimilation to American society, but ultimately weakened tribes. Overall, Grover Cleveland did very little to move civil rights reforms in the correct direction, extending the lack of rights minorities already had.
Thesis:
As the first Democrat elected into presidential office since the Civil War, Grover Cleveland held the task of bettering the nation. A Northern Democrat, Cleveland took the presidency for two nonconsecutive terms. During these terms, he sought to reform the federal government and help for foster the nation into economic stability. However, Cleveland caused considerable social divisions with the silver and tariff issues. He would go on to effectively divide the Democratic party, losing votes of the working class. His biggest success was seen with the Interstate Commerce Act, causing railroad rates to go down. The panic of 1893 caused a state of instability for America, which required the president to be bailed out by a successful banker. Grover Cleveland deserves a C+ based the establishment of disunity, and small improvements made for the fast- growing nation.
Goals For Presidency:
Cleveland’s biggest goal in his first term was reform. He advocated improvement of civil service procedures, reform of executive departments,reduction of pensions to Civil War veterans, a tariff reform, and endingsilver-backed coinage. He achieved moderate success in government reforms, going against the spoils system in appointment of government employees. He fought the party system, announcing that he would not appoint anyone based solely on their party affiliation. He believed in the value of merit, allowing those that were exceptional in their position to stay in it, regardless of their political party. As time went on, many of his Democratic advisors forced him in the direction of Democratic appointments. This caused Cleveland to contradict his goal of reform in executive departments. Although he sought to end coinage based on silver, Cleveland was defeated in his first term. Cleveland’s goals for his second term were focused mainly on silver and tariffs. With the support of many Democrats, he succeeded in repealing the free coinage of silver, bringing gold reserves to safe levels. Cleveland was a strong supporter of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which proposed moderated reduction on tariffs, especially on raw material tariffs. While the bill passed relatively easily through the House, it faced steeper opposition in the Senate. The final bill included over six hundred amendments, and was called a disgrace by Cleveland. Even though the bill had so many amendments, Cleveland still signed the bill, as he believed it was better than the McKinley Tariff.
Relationship with Congress:
During Cleveland’s first term in office, the 49th and 50th Congresses were in session. The 49th Congress was dominated by Democrats in the House of Representatives, while the Republicans took the majority in the Senate. This proved to be a challenge for the Democratic president. Although he was backed heartily by the House, it was increasingly difficult for him to pass legislation through the Senate. This was also the case for the 50th Congress. However, the majority for the Republicans in the Senate and the Democrats in the House was taken by a much smaller margin. While Grover Cleveland served his second term in office, the 53rd and 54th Congresses were serving in the legislative branch. In the 53rd Congress, Democrats dominated both the House and the Senate. Conversely, the Republicans held the legislative branch in the 54th Congress. The majority switch challenged Cleveland. As a Democrat, the Republican majority made it difficult to pass anything through Congress. Throughout his presidency, Cleveland also upset the Democratic party with his policies and actions, losing support from his own party. Overall, Cleveland was not in good standing with his Congress by the end of his presidency.
Positive Action:
The most positive action of Grover Cleveland’s presidency, was the Interstate Commerce Act, which was created to regulate fair rates and rate discrimination. The Interstate Commerce Commission or the ICC’s main purpose was to help ensure that railroad companies did not economically abuse their passengers and the cargo being shipped through the companies. The years prior to Cleveland’s presidency saw increased agitation from western farmers, who believed the railroad companies were discriminating from town to town. The Act claimed that railroads had to charge a “just and reasonable” rate, and they could not give any lower rates or other advantages to any special customers or businesses. While the ICC would grow to become a very important organization, it struggled in its early years, as Cleveland did not provide adequate funds, needed to enforce the Act. While the ICC floundered under Cleveland, it would prosper under the administration of Teddy Roosevelt. This is a positive action for Cleveland as it would grow to help western farmers in the years after Cleveland’s tenure as President.
Negative Action:
The most negative action taking by Cleveland, during his administration, was his handling of the Pullman Strike. The Pullman Strike started when the Pullman Palace Car Company slashed wages, due to the panic 1893. The Pullman workers joined the American Railway Union, led by the influential Eugen V. Debs. On June 26, 1894, Debs started the boycott as 125,000 employees stopped working on 29 railroad lines, that used Pullman cars. As the railroads started to struggle, the companies started to hire new employees and African Americans started to cross the picket lines, fearing that the boycott would result in African American jobs being cut. While the new employees started working, tensions grew between the new and old workers. Grover Cleveland authorized the use of federal intervention, in order to break up the strikes. Federal troops were called in, and started to disperse the angry union employees. 30 strikers would be killed, 57 were wounded, and over $80 million property damage resulted in the clash. This action would further alienate most Democratic leaders, who sought support from unions to win general election. This is his most negative action as it would result in the loss of the presidency for the Democratic party, as William Jennings Bryan would lose the following election to William McKinley.
Influential Decision:
The most influential decision, during Cleveland’s Presidency, was to trust JP Morgan during the financial crisis of 1893. Cleveland inherited a struggling economy, brought on by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, and the McKinley Tariff, which were passed due to overproduction of silver mines, during the presidency of Benjamin Harrison. Cleveland turned to JP Morgan, who lent the Federal Government $65 million in gold coins. The gold coins would be used to back the gold standard and brought the US out of its panic. While the panic was not Cleveland’s fault, many people blamed him and the Democratic party. Without Cleveland’s actions, the US economy would have continued to struggle.
Conclusion:
By the end of Grover Cleveland’s presidency, the United States was worse off. He originally sought to be rid of the silver standard, but ultimately caused disunity in the country. He effectively split the American public over the silver issue. He alienated many members of the Democratic party, which would cause them to turn their backs on him and endorse William Jennings Bryan. He was a positive member of government when it came to the Interstate Commerce Act, regulating railroad rights, as railroads were a major component of American society at that time. The country felt a long lasting impact from the Panic of 1893 under the Cleveland administration. When Cleveland left office, the Democratic party was left broken and the country was left in shambles, which would be left to William McKinley.
Bibliography:
"Grover Cleveland." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2012. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/grovercleveland22>.
"Miller Center." American President: Grover Cleveland. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2012. <http://millercenter.org/president/cleveland>.
Smith, Carter. Presidents: All You Need to Know. New York: Hylas, 2008. Print.